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A teenage girl survived a dramatic fall from a ride at a US theme park after men heroically caught her.

Footage shows her falling from the ride at Six Flags Great Escape amusement park in Queensbury, New York. A group of men banded together to catch her, while another climbed a tree to remove branches which were impeding their rescue effort.

In the video, a girl wearing blue shorts and a grey shirt screams as she dangles from the gondola ride.

Many onlookers shouted in worry as it looked like she could fall to the ground.

The girl dangles perilously from the theme park ride

“I was sitting there waiting and I heard the people screaming,” Loren Lent, who witnessed the incident, told The Washington Post.

He was standing there to photograph his family, who were on the ride. He said of the rescue effort: “It was just good to see people band together to do what they could do.”

Mr Lent said she was dangling for at least 90 seconds, and possibly a few minutes.

Local police described the “Sky Ride" as a “very slow-moving, gondola-style attraction that spans several hundred feet across the park.”

Bystanders rush the girl to safety after catching her

Park staff stopped the ride after finding out a passenger was in distress. According to a statement from the Warren County Sheriff's office, the girl was 14 years old visiting the New York park from Delaware. She was first treated by emergency staff at the park, then taken to a local hospital. Finally, she was flown by helicopter to Albany Medical centre where she remains in a stable condition.

One of the men who helped her was injured in the rescue effort. The 47-year-old man was taken to a local hospital after injuring his back whilst trying to catch her.

A spokesperson told The Washington Post the ride has been cleared for operation by the New York State Department of Labor. However, the park has kept it closed while a "thorough internal review" is conducted.